Though the U.S. Supreme Court has settled the Constitutional issue of same-sex marriage, employee benefits managers and attorneys can look forward to a lengthy period of implementation and adaptation. Some of the implications are already clear; others will be years in taking shape. Here are a few of the key points to consider. Marital status […]

In July 2015, medical cannabis became legal in Minnesota—thereby opening a new set of questions for Minnesota courts and state employment law. Here’s what attorneys and employers need to know about the new law’s provisions, its interactions with other state and federal statutes, and the evolving case law from other states. On May 29, 2014, […]

Disclosure obligations and discovery limitations under Minnesota Rule of Civil Procedure 26 A set of 2013 amendments to Minnesota Rule of Civil Procedure 26 has changed the playing field with respect to disclosure and discovery requirements regarding expert witnesses. The modified rule contains traps for the unwary attorney—particularly when it comes to those witnesses with personal […]

JOSEPH LEONI, who received his JD from William Mitchell College of Law, has practiced law for 31 years—the first 15 in the Twin Cities, and the past 16 of them with the Trenti Law Firm in Virginia, Minnesota. He handles civil trial work, with a primary focus on personal injury cases, but also handles criminal […]

Whenever other lawyers learn that my wife and children (two daughters) are lawyers, I usually get a quizzical look, often followed by a question about how I could ever let my children become lawyers. I patiently reply that these were choices freely made by my daughters, and that I didn’t try to influence them. Then, […]

This will be my final column for Bench & Bar of Minnesota after almost 10 years as director of the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility (OLPR), and over 31 years working in the director’s office at varying attorney levels. I have served six chief justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court, seven Lawyers Board chairs and […]

What signifies knowing the Names, if you know not the Nature of Things? – Poor Richard’s Almanack The term “esquire” is a term of courtesy likely familiar to the reader of this page. It’s not as groovy as “Your Honor” or “Your Majesty” or “The Right Honourable This-or-That” or “Monsignor Fitz-Deuce-Poodle,” but few things are. […]

Although described as a means of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), arbitration occasionally is a precursor to litigation. A pair of recent rulings in the federal and state courts reflects this tendency, and highlight some strategies and pitfalls for parties and their lawyers. Both cases upheld the arbitral awards in management-labor cases, one favorable to the […]

BANKRUPTCY JUDICIAL LAW • All applicable Chapter 13 confirmation requirements must be met. In a recent case, the debtor attempted to pick and choose which subsections of 11 U.S.C. 1322(b) would be complied with and which would be ignored. The debtor’s original Chapter 13 plan bifurcated non-priority unsecured claims into two classes, paying a higher […]